


Candi Crushing It

by rainbowsandbubbles



Series: JatP Character Deep Dives [1]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Canon Backstory, Canon Compliant, Dirty Candy, Ex-Best Friends, Friendship, Gen, Grief, Jealousy, Missing mothers, what it means to lose someone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27801616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowsandbubbles/pseuds/rainbowsandbubbles
Summary: Exploring the friendship breakup between Carrie, Julie, and Flynn -- from Carrie's POV.aka: Maybe Carrie isn't quite the villain you think she is.
Relationships: Flynn & Kayla & Julie Molina & Carrie Wilson, Flynn/Julie Molina/Carrie Wilson
Series: JatP Character Deep Dives [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2034106
Comments: 7
Kudos: 29





	Candi Crushing It

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for your love & comments! I am going to group all of these stories into a series to make them a little easier to find: deep dives into the backstories of characters I think deserved more time onscreen. My goal is to stick within the canon of the show, just fleshing out some of the characters that I hope to see more of in season 2. 
> 
> I live for feedback, so please keep the kudos and comments coming!! And please let me know in the comments which one you think I should take on next!  
> * Reggie/Ray bromance?  
> * more Willex?  
> * Carlos/Reggie brother bonding?  
> * more Sunset Curve (before the Orpheum)?  
> * Feel free to suggest other ideas too!

Carrie frowned at her reflection in the full-length mirror that covered the wall of the dance studio. She was supposed to have a fabulous, custom-fitted, hand-painted dress for this showcase. Not some off-the-rack sequined skirt.

Sure, it was only the freshman winter showcase, and no one important really ever came to these things, but Carrie had worked hard to make it the best freshman showcase that Los Feliz high school had ever seen. Her dad had cut his tour short to come home for this. And it was supposed to be the debut performance for Candi Crush.

They were supposed to make ‘em all say “Wow.”

For over a year, they had planned this performance. Since they all decided to apply to Los Feliz’s music program together. Even before they officially got in, they’d started writing a song for the showcase. Then, there were all the rehearsals, the lessons with her dad’s exclusive vocal coach, and the dance sessions with the world’s best choreographers…

Carrie had even watched hours of makeup tutorials on YouTube to get their look just right. And if you thought it was easy to find a look that worked for everyone … Well, _you_ try matching color palettes for three different skin tones so they would match without looking like they _tried_ to match. Julie and Flynn didn’t even appreciate the effort that went into creating Candi Crush’s signature style.

And the costumes …

The costumes had been beyond perfect.

Carrie frowned and pulled at the hem of her store-bought skirt that kept bunching up in weird ways. It just wasn’t fair.

None of this was fair.

“Mrs. Harrison, I thought only performers were allowed back here.” Carrie glared at Julie, who was sitting on the floor in the corner of the dance studio with Flynn. Their heads were bowed together, whispering secrets back and forth. Secrets that didn’t include her anymore. “Shouldn’t _Julie_ be out in the auditorium with the rest of the _audience?_ ”

Flynn jumped up, fists curled tightly, and lunged toward Carrie. “Listen, _demon—_ ”

Carrie took half a step forward to show that she wasn’t intimidated. Just half a step, so she wouldn’t look like she was bothered by Flynn’s attempt to rile her up. She folded her arms across her chest, and smirked in a practiced “I’m so bored” stance. There was no way she was going to give Flynn the satisfaction of seeing her cry. No way she was going to let this new dig get under her skin. She was _not_ evil. She was _not_ cruel. She was not _anything_ like her mother.

Julie grabbed Flynn’s hand and pulled her back, gently. She shook her head slightly and rolled her eyes. Flynn’s shoulders sagged, and she sat back down in the corner next to Julie. They glanced up at Carrie one more time, then turned their backs on her without another word.

She had been dismissed.

Again.

“I think we can make an exception for Julie,” Mrs. Harrison announced, putting just a little too much sugar into her voice, the way teachers did when they were trying to diffuse an awkward situation. She squeezed Carrie’s arm and leaned down with a condescending glint in her eye. “We need to be sensitive to Julie’s situation,” she whispered. “You know she just lost her mother.”

Carrie pinched her lips together and forced a smile. “Of course, Mrs. Harrison. We wouldn’t want anyone to upset _Julie._ ”

She pulled her arm away and stomped to the opposite side of the room. Julie’s mom wasn’t _lost._ Rose was dead, and that totally sucked, but at least _she_ didn’t leave on purpose. And you can’t call someone “lost” when you know exactly where they are. Even if it’s the northeast corner of Rosedale Cemetery, between two giant eucalyptus trees.

If anyone could claim a _lost_ mom, it was Carrie. Her mother left so long ago that Carrie couldn’t even remember what she looked like. There were no happy family stories to remember. No pictures of sweet mother-daughter moments. No indication that Carrie’s mom had ever cared about anyone but herself.

She hadn’t even waited for Carrie’s dad to get home. He was on tour when she left a note with the nanny that said she didn’t want to be tied down and signed divorce papers with her lawyer. She walked away and never looked back. They hadn’t heard one word from her since.

Not even a single birthday card.

Rose Molina had been more of a mom to Carrie than Deborah Wilson ever was. She always invited Carrie to sit with them for the annual Lone Tree Elementary mother / daughter pancake breakfast. She mediated the peace between the girls and got them back together again when Flynn tried to break up the band to form a duet with just her and Julie after the Great Pool Party Fiasco™ the summer before seventh grade. _(Double Trouble? Seriously? What kind of a band name was that?)_ And Rose was the one who rushed to the rescue when Carrie started her period halfway through her pre-algebra midterm.

But somehow, Carrie was shallow and selfish and “making it all about herself,” just because she dared to be sad that Rose was gone.

Rose was always Candi Crush’s biggest cheerleader. She treated every performance in the Molina’s garage studio like it was a sold-out show on Sunset Blvd. She was even the one to suggest the name Candi Crush, with a lollipop i, instead of a y, in “candy.”

But that was all before.

Carrie yanked on the hem of her skirt. _Why wouldn’t this stupid thing hang straight?_

The costumes Carrie and Rose had designed for their big debut had been perfect. Beyond perfect. They were fabulous. Soft, twirly dresses in pastel candy colors to complement each girl’s skin tones. The shimmery fabric caught the reflections of the spotlights just enough to dazzle, but not overpower the girls’ performances, so that every eye in the audience would be focused squarely on them. And Rose had spent hours hand-painting a swirl of bright candies on the skirt of each dress with glitter paint that should have been way too much, but with Rose’s skilled artist hand, it was just right.

Carrie’s dress was light enough that she might have been wearing a cloud, but it fit so perfectly it felt like she was wrapped in a hug. And if Carrie hadn’t insisted on trying it on one last time before the paint was completely dry, the dress would have been hanging in her closet this morning, instead of somewhere in the mess of Rose’s unfinished projects.

When Rose died, Carrie needed that hug more than anything she had ever needed before. But when she asked Julie about the dress, Flynn flew off the handle. _“What kind of a demon are you? Julie’s mom is gone, and all you care about is your stupid costume? How can you be so vapid and shallow?”_

No one bothered to ask if Carrie was okay.

She pulled one more time on the hem of her skirt, and a huge section of the sequined trim tore away with a loud _riiiip._

Flynn giggled and pointed at Carrie, muttering something under her breath that lifted the corner of Julie’s mouth into a ghost of a smile.

Carrie froze for half a second, then swallowed hard and rolled her eyes. She turned her back on her former best friends and pulled the rest of the trim off her skirt, leaving a shredded fringe behind that honestly looked better anyway.

Flynn and Julie didn’t want to be her friends anymore? Fine. She didn’t need them anyway. They weren’t even hard to replace. Kaylah, Heather, Liv, and Jenni had jumped at the chance to join her group when Julie decided she wasn’t going to sing anymore.

It was better this way.

No more fighting over lyrics with Julie or choreography with Flynn.

She was in charge, and her new best friends would never turn on her.

She was tired of being ground into the dirt like some discarded candy wrapper.

_Wait!_

That was it.

Carrie took a deep breath and marched across the room to Mrs. Harrison. “I’m changing the name of _my_ group,” she said, throwing a condescending look over her shoulder at Flynn and Julie.

They weren’t going to hold her back anymore. Candi Crush was a fine name for little girls. Her new group was so much better than that.

And **_Dirty Candi_** was going to crush this showcase.


End file.
